From inside the flap

THE MAN WHO LOVED IN LIGHT YEARS

In a time where a gov-drug addicted citizenry on Terra and the rest of closer known space are fascinated by infinite partitions of Teenage Angst holo-sitcom pablum, a burned out Prof decides to focus his attention on a senior theatre major in his Philosophy class at Proteus college, an odd phenomenon of a person, through known space, a person with massive traces of mutant pheromones. Hudson follows her until he ends up on a series of gossip-stalker networks filmed by small drone probes, good entertainment for billions of bored Terran viewers throughout the system. A juvenile effort, this very early first SF novel was written as soft (SF) surreal techno-fantasy.

Introduction by D.F. Lewis.

----------------------------------------

MOVIETONE MARS:

Cinema is illegal, either by crudely projecting an image, video, or post-post digital -- all movie stars and celebrities were purged long ago-- Every citizen has his own television show daily. If a citizen's show gets too popular on the realm, a massive enclave of gov censors cancel that citizen's show for a while. It is the New Age of Equality - Everyone is his own recursive celebrity. Paul Roberts, a gov archivist, with a masters in the history of game shows, discovers a moldy document about the Great Purge that turns him into a fugitive, a vid outlaw hiding out near the architrave of seedy leaking Theme Parks on Mars among the worn simulacra of W C Fields, Bob Hope that are indentured to entertain the Terran tourists on vacation. Introduction by Jeffrey Thomas.

------------------------------------------

TILTING PLANET (THE TROUBLE WITH XENODES):

Droves of Terran shrinks are shuttled in far space to treat a species of dying schizophrenic alien. Brister is one of thousands of psychiatrists sent to Xenode from Earth to study the melancholy metacognitive species. Huxley Pharmaceuticals has a miracle drug that may stave off the illness. Word has it that a monolithic company has spawned the pandemic by dumping massive amounts of hallucinogenics in the planet's system. Introduction by Sherry Decker of an early novel.

--------------------------------

GALACTIC SMUT MERCHANTS:

Surreal Alien Exploitation - Something new for the millions of grunts to watch on the outerbelt mining planets -- but could the marketers conquer the Terran pay-per-view market? It is a time when the Earth is swept by the "Modern Jezus" Movement, and it's grotesque founder, the Reverend Cyborg, a hillbilly ex-drug-runner-turned prophet after his outlaw ship crashed on the lunar surface. Entertainment merchant Hans Bendixon and all the other New Hollywood studios on Mars are desperate to win over a newly puritanical Earth in the Pay-per view markets. Even if it means using a previously unknown species of the lusterous sexual Tryphen indigenous to a small moon of a gaseous planet in a far-off sector. Scientific studies have shown that these creatures have a rather strange hypno-sexual-erotic effect on humans. A manned probe is sent to film them as background for the Fall Lineup of Infinite Spice Channel Pay-Per-View shows. Intro by M Philbin.

A collection of four short novels by M F Korn:
describing lovesick stalkers, synthetic tramps, abused robots, conmen, robber barons, oilfield and offworld nuclear workers, schizophrenic aliens, video oulaws, thieves, indentured androids, barflies, pharmaceutical overlords, squatters, smut merchants and good country people all carving out a piece of desperate living for themselves. Each of the four novels/novellas has a separate introduction by established writing colleagues of M F Korn.

The Man Who Loved in Light Years: A drug-addled philosophy professor stalks a pheromoned college senior through known space.

Movietone Mars: Cinema is illegal-Movie stars purged-everyone has his own television show.

Tilting Planet (trouble with xenodes): terran shrinks sent to cure schizophrenic artistic alien race, but who caused the outbreak?